Cult leader arrested in Mumbai for allegedly ensnaring young women

Sunil Kulkarni the head of Shifu Sunkriti was arrested by the Malad police and charged under laws pertaining to trafficking, cheating, obscenity and violation of the Information Technology Act.

Parents of four women in their twenties accuse Kulkarni of luring their daughters into consuming drugs and allege he provoked them into leaving their homes.

An officer from the Malad police station has confirmed Kulkarni's arrest and that an FIR has been registered against the accused.

Sunil Kulkarni allegedly poses as a mental health expert and operates his cult through social media.

The Bombay High Court. File Pic

The police have been rapped by Bombay High Court judges for not acting against Kulkarni earlier.

"How can the police take such serious cases so casually? The police cannot express helplessness in such serious cases. It is apparently a sex and drugs racket and the police are taking it very lightly knowing fully well that several girls and boys are trapped," a bench comprising of Justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudessai said, according to a report by Hindustan Times.

The bench further stated that if the police fail to take appropriate action then the court will ask the CID or CBI to take over the probe, since the police and the state are giving the impression that they are not carrying investigations seriously.